Comments on: Guardian Cryptic 25443 Rufus http://www.fifteensquared.net/2011/10/03/guardian-cryptic-25443-rufus/ Never knowingly undersolved. Fri, 24 May 2013 13:53:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: artoo http://www.fifteensquared.net/2011/10/03/guardian-cryptic-25443-rufus/#comment-171114 artoo Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:12:29 +0000 http://fifteensquared.net/?p=35072#comment-171114 Hi sschua, very nice, I would have been really impressed if you’d managed to work in the precise herbs shown on that medicine cabinet. For the other I was going with “ports”.

]]> By: RCWhiting http://www.fifteensquared.net/2011/10/03/guardian-cryptic-25443-rufus/#comment-171113 RCWhiting Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:53:40 +0000 http://fifteensquared.net/?p=35072#comment-171113 Ian@18
‘He was touching six feet in height.’

I do agree about your criterion.

]]> By: scchua http://www.fifteensquared.net/2011/10/03/guardian-cryptic-25443-rufus/#comment-171112 scchua Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:46:50 +0000 http://fifteensquared.net/?p=35072#comment-171112 Hi artoo and William.  Couldn’t reply earlier because of the time difference.  These are the answers to the picture connections.

12A EVISCERATE. The sea cucumber (animal, not vegetable despite its name) can defend itself by evisceration of some of its internal organs through its anus.  These regenerate after a while.  Varieties of this animal, when dried, are used in Chinese medicine, a practitioner of which is shown taking his female patient’s pulse.  Treatment is with medicines composed of various parts of plants/herbs and animals, stored in those drawers to be found lining the wall behind the counter of a Chinese pharmacy.

22A SHANGHAI.  Like the latter, other cities have lent their names to English words/expressions:
Naples – see Naples and die
Rome – all roads lead to Rome, Rome wasn’t built in a day, when in Rome….
Bristol – ship shape and Bristol fashion
Newcastle – bringing coal to Newcastle
Timbuktu/Timbuctoo – eg. It might as well be in Timbuktu – to mean it’s extremely remote.

Apologies to Bristolians that I couldn’t find a picture that I thought many would identify with your fair city.  I did find a picture of one of the good-looking cars named after your city and handbuilt by the Bristol Car Company, which started off as a division of the aircraft manufacturer.

]]> By: Ian http://www.fifteensquared.net/2011/10/03/guardian-cryptic-25443-rufus/#comment-171109 Ian Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:58:02 +0000 http://fifteensquared.net/?p=35072#comment-171109 I feel “touching” = “about” is rather frail. I like to be able to quote a sentence where the words are interchangeable but in this case doesn’t it need to be “touching on”?

]]> By: Sil van den Hoek http://www.fifteensquared.net/2011/10/03/guardian-cryptic-25443-rufus/#comment-171107 Sil van den Hoek Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:03:50 +0000 http://fifteensquared.net/?p=35072#comment-171107 I’m the last one [or should I say: we are the last two] to not enjoy a Rufus puzzle, but this one was really a quicky, wasn’t it?

I wouldn’t have commented, weren’t there the fact that today I had quite a few déjà vus.
I am pretty sure Araucaria used a similar cd for DOWSER a while ago. And ATHENS has been done a few times before (sometimes referring to the A and S being adjacent on a computer keyboard). And 5ac, well, that clue was almost identical to a clue in the Dante puzzle that I will blog this Thursday.
Maybe, I am seeing things that aren’t there, but OVERHAUL (14d), INCHES (16d) and the clues (though not their solutions) for 6ac and 8d were also part of my Past Experience (which, to be clear, isn’t necessarily related to Rufus puzzles).

However, dear Rufus, we ticked (at least) four that belong in Category 1. LADY’S MAN (10ac) [even though, again, Araucaria clued it not so very long ago], EVISCERATE (12ac) [splendid anagram], ON SCHEDULE (18ac) [my PinC's second favourite of the day] and 17d (AGENTS)[without doubt today's winner, for both of us].

Thanks scchua for the blog.

In a way, Rufus is just like The Stones.
Going on and on, always being himself.
BTW, how about the next album by The Rolling Stones being called “Septuagenarian” …. :)

]]> By: Niall M http://www.fifteensquared.net/2011/10/03/guardian-cryptic-25443-rufus/#comment-171106 Niall M Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:45:09 +0000 http://fifteensquared.net/?p=35072#comment-171106 I thought of that too Harry.
The word phoney comes from fawney which comes from the Irish word fainne meaning ring. I had a gold fainne (fainne or) when I was a young man for my ability to speak my native tongue. Sadly not a lot of it has stayed with me (except fainne of course).

]]> By: Martin P http://www.fifteensquared.net/2011/10/03/guardian-cryptic-25443-rufus/#comment-171104 Martin P Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:05:31 +0000 http://fifteensquared.net/?p=35072#comment-171104 Thanks Rufus.

Quite a quick solve, but jolly good fun I thought.

My favourite was 17d.

]]> By: apiarist http://www.fifteensquared.net/2011/10/03/guardian-cryptic-25443-rufus/#comment-171099 apiarist Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:48:24 +0000 http://fifteensquared.net/?p=35072#comment-171099 Hi scchua. Now that’s a good point. Are you pronounced “Shooer” or “Skewer” ?!!!

]]> By: artoo http://www.fifteensquared.net/2011/10/03/guardian-cryptic-25443-rufus/#comment-171098 artoo Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:45:03 +0000 http://fifteensquared.net/?p=35072#comment-171098 OK, I’ll bite. What does Chinese Medicine (angelica root, eucommia and a sea cucumber) have to do with evisceration? Or for that matter, what do Timbuktu and the Vatican have to do with Shanghai?

]]> By: scchua http://www.fifteensquared.net/2011/10/03/guardian-cryptic-25443-rufus/#comment-171092 scchua Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:56:26 +0000 http://fifteensquared.net/?p=35072#comment-171092 Hi apiarist, it all depends on where you went to shool.

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